Internet protocol television audio and video calling

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computer-readable storage medium in a media controller having computer instructions to execute a soft-phone client application on the media processor, receive an audio call or a video call originating from an IP Multimedia Subsystem network where the calls are directed to the media processor by a gateway having a switch that routes the audio call or video call in accordance with a destination address included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header message, and selectively answer one of the audio call or the video call. The computer instructions can be operable to present an audio portion of the audio call through a speaker of a presentation device when an audio call is answered. Other embodiments are disclosed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to audio and video calling andmore specifically to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) audio andvideo calling system and method.

BACKGROUND

Existing IPTV systems have Voice over IP or VoIP and video conferencingcapabilities using computer equipment and specialized VoIP telephones.These functions are not integrated elegantly with a number of otherfunctions associated with IPTV network services such as videopresentations. Subscribers receiving calls during the presentation of amedia program may be inconvenienced and miss part of the presentation intheir attempts to answer a call or even to make a call using the IPTVcalling features. Generally, existing subscribers are making and answerphone calls using existing corded or cordless phones that may be coupledvia an RJ11 jack to a Terminal Adapter located inside a ResidentialGateway.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-2 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal interacting withthe communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication deviceutilized in the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system;

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method operating inportions of the systems described in FIGS. 1-5; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments of IPTV audio and video calling. Other embodiments arecontemplated by the present disclosure.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a set-top box (STB)for use in an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network comprising acontroller to execute a soft-phone client application in the STB wherethe soft phone application is capable of processing audio or video callsat the STB, and cause the soft-phone to detect an incoming audio call orvideo call originating from an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem(IMS) network and routed through the IPTV network where the audio callor video call is directed to the STB by a Residential Gateway (RG)having a switching element that selectively routes calls to a pluralityof terminal devices including the STB in accordance with a destinationaddress included in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header message.The controller is also operable to cause the soft-phone clientapplication to present a caller identification (ID) through apresentation device coupled to the STB, cause the soft-phone clientapplication to selectively answer the incoming audio call or the videocall, receive the incoming audio call or the incoming video call routedfrom the RG, and present the audio call or video call through thepresentation device coupled to the STB

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium in a media controller having computerinstructions to execute a soft-phone client application on the mediaprocessor, receive an audio call or a video call originating from an IPMultimedia Subsystem (IMS) network where the calls are directed to themedia processor by a gateway having a switch that routes the audio callor video call in accordance with a destination address included in aSession Initiation Protocol (SIP) header message, and selectively answerone of the audio call or the video call. The computer instructions canbe operable to present an audio portion of the audio call or of thevideo call through a speaker of a presentation device operativelycoupled to the media processor.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method at a gatewayfor receiving a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message correspondingto an audio call or a video call, determining from a called number inthe SIP message that the audio call or the video call is directed to aSet-Top Box (STB) coupled to the gateway, and receiving at least one ofaudio calls and video calls destined for the STB. The method at thegateway can also retrieve from the SIP message a calling party number,transmit to the STB a caller identification (ID) associated with thecalling party number and cause a digital switch in the gateway to routethe audio call or the video call to the STB on the basis of the callednumber in SIP message and responsive to receiving a signal from the STBindicating that the audio call or video call has been answered by theSTB.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) media system. TheIPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO) 110 with atleast one super headend office server (SHS) 111 which receives mediacontent from satellite and/or terrestrial communication systems. In thepresent context, media content can represent audio content, moving imagecontent such as videos, still image content, and combinations thereof.The SHS server 111 can forward packets associated with the media contentto one or more video head-end servers (VHS) 114 via a network of videohead-end offices (VHO) 112 according to a common multicast communicationprotocol.

The VHS 114 can distribute multimedia broadcast content via an accessnetwork 118 to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing agateway 104 (such as a residential or commercial gateway). The accessnetwork 118 can represent a group of digital subscriber line accessmultiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a service areainterface that provide broadband services over optical links or coppertwisted pairs 119 to buildings 102. The gateway 104 can use commoncommunication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 106 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 108 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 107 (such as aninfrared or RF remote control).

The gateway 104, the media processors 106, and media devices 108 canutilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial, powerlineor phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless access protocolsuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). By way of these interfaces, unicastcommunications can also be invoked between the media processors 106 andsubsystems of the IPTV media system for services such as video-on-demand(VoD), browsing an electronic programming guide (EPG), or otherinfrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 129 can be used also in themedia system of FIG. 1. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 100. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115 carrying mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 131 coupled to thebuilding 102. Modulated signals received by the satellite dish receiver131 can be transferred to the media processors 106 for demodulating,decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channels to the mediadevices 108. The media processors 106 can be equipped with a broadbandport to the ISP network 132 to enable interactive services such as VoDand EPG as described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 133 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system100. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 133 can provide Internet,telephony, and interactive media services also.

It is contemplated that the present disclosure can apply to any presentor next generation over-the-air and/or landline media content servicessystem.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 130, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing portal services over an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) network 132 to wireline media devices 108 or wirelesscommunication devices 116.

All forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 117 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), or cellular communication technologies(such as GSM, CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, and soon).

The gateway 104 in system 100 can be adapted to selectively route callsto any of the communication devices 108 or 116 in building 102 accordingto a destination address in an incoming message.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 1 are described below.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 200employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 200 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith communication system 100 as another representative embodiment ofcommunication system 100.

Communication system 200 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)240, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 230, and other commonnetwork elements of an IMS network 250. The IMS network 250 canestablish communications between IMS compliant communication devices(CD) 201, 202, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 203, 205,and combinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 220 coupled to a PSTN network 260. The MGCF 220 is not used whena communication session involves IMS CD to IMS CD communications. Anycommunication session involving at least one PSTN CD requires the use ofthe MGCF 220.

IMS CDs 201, 202 can register with the IMS network 250 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with at the HSS240. To initiate a communication session between CDs, an originating IMSCD 201 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message toan originating P-CSCF 204 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 206. The originating S-CSCF 206 can submit the SIPINVITE message to an application server (AS) such as reference 217 thatcan provide a variety of services to IMS subscribers. For example, theapplication server 217 can be used to perform originating treatmentfunctions on the calling party number received by the originating S-CSCF206 in the SIP INVITE message. Originating treatment functions caninclude determining whether the calling party number has internationalcalling services, and/or is requesting special telephony features (e.g.,*72 forward calls, *73 cancel call forwarding, *67 for caller IDblocking, and so on).

Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 206 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 230 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIP INVITE to aSIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminating communicationdevice is IMS compliant. The SIP URI can be used by an InterrogatingCSCF (I-CSCF) 207 to submit a query to the HSS 240 to identify aterminating S-CSCF 214 associated with a terminating IMS CD such asreference 202. Once identified, the I-CSCF 207 can submit the SIP INVITEto the terminating S-CSCF 214. The terminating S-CSCF 214 can thenidentify a terminating P-CSCF 216 associated with the terminating CD202. The P-CSCF 216 then signals the CD 202 to establish communications.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such asreferences 203 or 205, the ENUM system 230 can respond with anunsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originating S-CSCF206 to forward the call to the MGCF 220 via a Breakout Gateway ControlFunction (BGCF) 219. The MGCF 220 can then initiate the call to theterminating PSTN CD over the PSTN network 260.

The aforementioned communication process is symmetrical. Accordingly,the terms “originating” and “terminating” in FIG. 2 are interchangeable.It is further noted that communication system 200 can be adapted tosupport video conferencing. In addition, communication system 200 can beadapted to provide the IMS CDs 201 and 202 with the multimedia andInternet services of communication system 100.

System 200 can include or otherwise be coupled with server 130 of FIG. 1for purposes similar to those described above. It is furthercontemplated that the communication devices (e.g., references 201, 202,203, and 205) depicted in FIG. 2 can receive incoming messages that areselectively routed by gateway 104 according to a destination address ina SIP message received from the IMS network 250.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 2 are described below.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal 302 which canoperate from the computing devices 130 of the communication system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. The portal 302 can be used for managing servicesof communication systems 100-200. The portal 302 can be accessed by aUniform Resource Locator (URL) with a common Internet browser such asMicrosoft's Internet Explorer™ using an Internet-capable communicationdevice such as those described for FIGS. 1-2. The portal 302 can beconfigured, for example, to access a media processor 106 and servicesmanaged thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a VoD catalog,an EPG, or a personal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures, audiorecordings, etc.) stored in the media processor 106. The portal 302 canalso be used for provisioning IMS services described earlier,provisioning Internet services, provisioning cellular phone services,and so on.

It is contemplated by the present disclosure that the web portal 302 canfurther be utilized to manage and provision a softphone clientapplication operating in the media processor 106 of FIG. 1, and/or aswitching element in the gateway 104 of FIGS. 1-2.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 3 are described below

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 400.Communication device 400 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the communication devices of FIGS. 1-2. Thecommunication device 400 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 402 (herein transceiver 402), a user interface (UI) 404, apower supply 414, a location receiver 416, and a controller 406 formanaging operations thereof. The transceiver 402 can support short-rangeor long-range wireless access technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi,Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), or cellularcommunication technologies, just to mention a few. Cellular technologiescan include, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE,EV/DO, WiMAX, SDR, and next generation cellular wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 402 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCPIP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 404 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 408 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device400. The keypad 408 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 400 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth. The keypad 408 canrepresent a numeric dialing keypad commonly used by phones, and/or aQwerty keypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 404 can further include adisplay 410 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display),OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technologyfor conveying images to an end user of the communication device 400. Inan embodiment where the display 410 is touch-sensitive, a portion or allof the keypad 408 can be presented by way of the display 410.

The UI 404 can also include an audio system 412 that utilizes commonaudio technology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heardonly in the proximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such asspeakerphone for hands free operation). The audio system 412 can furtherinclude a microphone for receiving audible signals of an end user. Theaudio system 412 can also be used for voice recognition applications.The UI 404 can further include an image sensor 413 such as a chargedcoupled device (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 414 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and charging system technologies for supplying energy tothe components of the communication device 400 to facilitate long-rangeor short-range portable applications. The location receiver 416 canutilize common location technology such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver for identifying a location of the communication device400 based on signals generated by a constellation of GPS satellites,thereby facilitating common location services such as navigation.

The communication device 400 can use the transceiver 402 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi or Bluetooth access point bycommon sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) and/or a signal time of arrival (TOA) or time of flight(TOF). The controller 406 can utilize computing technologies such as amicroprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and/or a videoprocessor with associated storage memory such a Flash, ROM, RAM, SRAM,DRAM or other storage technologies.

The communication device 400 can be adapted to perform the functions ofthe media processor 106, the media devices 108, or the portablecommunication devices 116 of FIG. 1, as well as the IMS CDs 201-202 andPSTN CDs 203-205 of FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that thecommunication device 400 can also represent other common devices thatcan operate in communication systems 100-200 of FIGS. 1-2 such as agaming console and a media player.

It is further contemplated by the present disclosure that thecommunication device 400 can perform the functions of a softphone clientapplication operating in the media processor 106 and the gateway 104 ofFIG. 1.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 4 are described below

FIG. 5 depicts a system 500 for use in an IPTV network 100 (such asshown in FIG. 1) in accordance with the claimed embodiments. The system500 can include an STB 504 having a controller 520 operable to, amongother things, execute a soft-phone client application on the STB 504,receive audio calls or video calls at the STB 504 using the soft-phoneclient application, detect and present a Caller ID associated with anaudio call or a video call, and to selectively answer the audio call orthe video call. The controller 520 can also be operable to receive theaudio call or video call routed from a gateway 530 communicativelycoupled to the IPTV network 100 when the audio call or video call isselectively answered and present the audio call or video call through apresentation device 502 coupled to the STB 504. The gateway 530 caninclude a switching element capable of directing calls to a selectcommunication device in a premise according to a destination address in,for example, a SIP message received by the gateway 530. The switchingelement 545 can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combinationthereof.

The STB 504 can further include a terminal adaptor 525 that isintegrated within the STB 504. The terminal adapter 525 can serve thefunction of converting VoIP signals to Plain Old Telephone Service(POTS) signals commonly used by non-VoIP-capable phones. The gateway 530which can operate in a residence or commercial establishment can coupleto the STB's internal terminal adaptor 525. The gateway 530 can utilizea processor or controller 540 and a terminal adaptor 535 for coupling toother non-VoIP-capable devices within a premise. For VoIP-capabledevices, the gateway 530 can directly couple to such devices (see VoIPphone 550) without the terminal adaptor 535. Note that the gateway 530can couple to any number of terminal devices such as additional STBs,computers, and traditional POTS telephony devices. Depending on whetherthe terminal device is VoIP-capable, a terminal device may or may not benecessary.

The presentation device 502 can be a television having a speaker 507that enables an audio call or an audio portion of a video call to bepresented through the speaker 507 of the television 502. The STB 504 caninclude an integrated microphone 505 or a microphone 509 of thetelevision 502 can be operatively coupled to the STB 504 fortransmitting audio input from the STB 504 to a calling party telephonydevice or called party receiving telephony device. The system 500 canalso include an IP camera 506 operatively coupled to the STB 504 fortransmitting video input from the STB 504 to a calling party telephonydevice or called party receiving telephony device. Alternatively oroptionally, a camera 508 can be integrated as part of the television 502and operatively coupled to the STB 504.

The STB 504 can also include a digital video recorder (DVR) 518 or haveDVR functionality. The controller 520 can perform one or more of thefunctions among pause, record and mute of a media presentation or mediaprogram when a call is answered or for the duration of an STB initiatedcall. The controller 520 can also facilitate a voice call using the STB504 by presenting a virtual phone keypad 510 on a display of thepresentation device 502 and enable selections of keys using a remotecontrol 522 of the STB 504. The controller 520 can be directed toinitiate a voice call or a video call based on a selection made from acall log screen or an electronic phonebook 516. The controller 520 caninitiate an audio or video call by using SIP Options messages forservice discovery to determine if an endpoint calling device isavailable to receive the video call.

The present disclosure contemplates a STB 504 and a gateway 530 (or 104of FIG. 1) that among other things facilitates audio and video calls viaan IPTV network using soft-phone client software in the STB 504 capableof optionally pausing, recording or muting an ongoing media presentationor program according to the illustrative embodiments of method 600 ofFIG. 6. By combining DVR functions with the audio and video callfunctions, a subscriber can conveniently and unobtrusively manage phoneand video calls by pausing or muting or allowing background recording ofa presentation for the duration of a call.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative method 600 that operates in portions ofthe devices of FIGS. 1-5. Method 600 can begin at 602 in which asoft-phone client application (hereinafter “softphone”) is executed onthe STB 504. At 604 the STB 504 by way of the softphone can receiveaudio calls or video calls from the gateway 530. The gateway 530utilizes the switching element 545 to selectively route a call to theSTB 504 by detecting a destination address associated with the STB 504.In one embodiment, the STB 504 can by way of the softphone detect andpresent a Caller ID associated with the audio call or video call at 606.The softphone can cause the STB 504 to selectively answer the audio callor the video call at 608. The audio call or video call at 610 can beselectively answered by the STB 504 by way of the softphone detecting auser request to accept the call.

The incoming audio call or video call can originate from an IMS network250 such as shown in FIG. 2 which is routed through an IPTV network 100such as shown in FIG. 1 such that the audio or video call is directed tothe STB 504 by the gateway 530 according to the destination addressincluded in an SIP header message. The gateway 530 can selectively routean incoming call based on caller ID or a P-Asserted-Identity field ofthe incoming SIP INVITE message, or based on the called number or aRequest-URI field of the incoming SIP INVITE message, to multiplerecipient devices including a terminal adaptor, the STB 504 and VoIPphones 550 based on stored routing algorithms to cause them to ring.

If multiple phone numbers are utilized in a residence or commercialestablishment, the switching element 545 of the gateway 530 canselectively route calls to an appropriate telephony device rather thanalert all telephony devices in the premise. With this in mind, thegateway 530 can be operable to access any one or more of a plurality ofterminal devices that can include the STB, a secondary STB in a premise,a VoIP phone, a POTS phone, or any other number of telephony devicescoupled to the gateway 530.

To accommodate STBs 504 with legacy POTS interfaces, the controller 520in the STB 504 is operable to cause the softphone to process POTSsignals generated by the terminal adapter 525 of the STB 504. Once theaudio or video call has been received by the softphone from the gateway530, the softphone can be adapted to present the call at 612 through apresentation device such as a television 502, which is operably coupledto the STB 504. To avoid interrupting an ongoing media program, thesoftphone can direct at 616 the DVR 518 to pause the media program whichinvokes a recording of the media program. Once the softphone detects thecall has been terminated, the softphone can initiate replay of the mediaprogram from where it was paused. The softphone can initiate step 616automatically or upon user request.

At 614 the softphone of the STB 504 can detect a request to initiate anaudio or video call. For example, the softpone or STB can initiate thevideo call by initiating a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) discoveryprocess to determine if a called party is capable of receiving a videocall. The STB can include a digital video recorder (DVR) where acontroller of the STB is operable to cause the DVR to pause, record, ormute a media presentation responsive to answering the audio or videocall, or when a call is initiated by the STB at 616. At 618 thesoftphone can present a virtual keypad 510 to facilitate the outgoingcall. Additionally, the STB 504 at 620 can also facilitate the call bypresenting call log screens or phonebooks 516. Thus, a user having aremote controller can scroll through a recent call list, an outgoing orincoming call list or an onscreen phonebook or address book, or dial anumber to facilitate calls.

At 622 the softphone can initiate an audio or video call using SIPoption messages which are transmitted from the gateway 530 to the IPTVnetwork 100 and routed to the IMS network 250 of FIGS. 1-2. The SIPoption message can be used for service discovery to determine if anendpoint device is available to receive the audio or video call. The SIPoption message can correspond to an SIP INVITE message that istransmitted to the IMS network 250 that is capable of directing audio orvideo calls to a terminal device that is IMS complaint or that supportsthe PSTN protocol. As before, if a current media presentation or programis playing, the softphone at 616 can perform one or more of thefunctions of directing the DVR 518 to pause, record, and mute for theduration of an initiated call.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, when a caller IDmessage is displayed on the TV, the user can have option to answer thecall or discard the alert message from the TV screen (where a defaultoption can exit the caller ID message in 2 seconds or otherpredetermined time if the user does not press anything). If the userselects the option to answer the call, then the Gateway 530 will routethe call to the STB 504 (executing the soft phone client) and the STB504 will answer the call (with a SIP 200 OK message sent from the STB504 to the gateway 530) and the phone will stop ringing as a result ofan SIP 180/183 ringing being transmitted to other terminal devices bythe IMS network 250.

Also note that the embodiments described herein support voice calls inseveral ways. In one instance, a pop-up phone keypad can be presented onthe screen allowing the user to dial out. In another embodiment, theuser can have access to various call logs or phonebooks on-screen andclick on the name or phone number of the party to call. In any case, thecall will be made via the STB 504 (voice via TV speakers and STBmicrophone) routed through the gateway 530.

In making a video call from one similarly set up system to another, SIPOptions messages for service discovery can be used to determine ifanother end point is also available and compatible for a video call.This can be determined from components in the IMS core illustrated inFIG. 2. It is further noted that the concepts of the video call can befurther extended to allow a subscriber to make a video call from the STB504 to mobile devices using of a wireless carrier.

Other suitable modifications can be applied to the present disclosurewithout departing from the scope of the claims below.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. The machine can operate, for example, asthe STB or media controller 504, the gateway 104 or combinations thereofas described above. In some embodiments, the machine operates as astandalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may be connected(e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networked deployment,the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client usermachine in server-client user network environment, or as a peer machinein a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 700 may include a processor 702 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 704 and a static memory 706, which communicate with each othervia a bus 708. The computer system 700 may further include a videodisplay unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system700 may include an input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 714 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signal generationdevice 718 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 720.

The disk drive unit 716 may include a machine-readable medium 722 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 724)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 724may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 704, the static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702during execution thereof by the computer system 700. The main memory 704and the processor 702 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 724, or that which receives and executes instructions 724from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 726 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 726 using the instructions 724. Theinstructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over a network726 via the network interface device 720.

While the machine-readable medium 722 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; and magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A set-top box for use in an internet protocoltelevision network, comprising: a memory to store executableinstructions; and a controller coupled with the memory, wherein thecontroller, responsive to executing the instructions, performsoperations comprising: executing a soft-phone client application in theset-top box, wherein the soft-phone client application is capable ofprocessing audio or video calls at the set-top box; causing thesoft-phone client application to detect an incoming audio call or anincoming video call originating from an internet protocol multimediasubsystem network and routed through the internet protocol televisionnetwork, wherein the incoming audio call or the incoming video call isdirected to the set-top box by a residential gateway, the residentialgateway coupled to a terminal adapter of the set-top box, theresidential gateway having a switching element that selectively routesincoming calls to a plurality of terminal devices including the set-topbox, the terminal adapter and a voice over internet protocol telephonein accordance with a destination address included in a sessioninitiation protocol header message, wherein the switching elementselectively routes the incoming calls based on a caller identificationor a P-asserted-identity field of the session initiation protocol headermessage, or based on a called number or a request universal resourceindicator field of the session initiation protocol header message;causing the soft-phone client application to present an incoming callalert message comprising a caller identification through a presentationdevice coupled to the set-top box; causing the soft-phone clientapplication to selectively answer the incoming audio call or theincoming video call, wherein, in accordance with the incoming audio callor the incoming video call being unanswered, the controller causes thecall alert message to be automatically discarded from the presentationdevice after a predetermined time; receiving the incoming audio call orthe incoming video call routed from the residential gateway; presentingthe incoming audio call or video call through the presentation devicecoupled to the set-top box; causing the soft-phone client application todetect a request to initiate an outgoing audio call or an outgoing videocall; causing the soft-phone client, in accordance with the request toinitiate the outgoing audio call or the outgoing video call, to presenta virtual telephone keypad through the presentation device, therebyenabling selection of a numeric key of the keypad to facilitate theoutgoing audio call or the outgoing video call, wherein the set-top boxcomprises a digital video recorder, wherein the controller causes thedigital video recorder to perform automatically pausing, recording ormuting of a media presentation responsive to an outgoing call beinginitiated by the set-top box, wherein the automatically pausing,recording or muting is for a duration of the outgoing call, and whereinthe terminal adapter of the set-top box comprises an integrated terminaladapter for converting voice-over-internet protocol signals to plain oldtelephone service signals, and wherein the controller causes thesoft-phone client application to process digital samples of the plainold telephone service signals.
 2. The set-top box of claim 1, whereinthe presentation device is a television having a speaker, wherein theaudio call or an audio portion of the video call is presented throughthe speaker of the television and wherein the soft-phone clientapplication processes the incoming video call selectively as a videocall or an audio only call.
 3. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein theset-top box comprises a microphone operatively coupled to the set-topbox for transmitting audio signals to a calling party device or a calledparty device.
 4. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the set-top boxcomprises an Internet Protocol camera operatively coupled to the set-topbox for transmitting video signals to a calling party device or a calledparty device.
 5. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofterminal devices comprises the set-top box, a secondary set-top box, anda voice-over-internet protocol phone, and wherein the switching elementof the residential gateway is capable of directing calls to each of theterminal devices according to the destination address in the sessioninitiation protocol header message.
 6. The set-top box of claim 1,wherein the set-top box initiates the video call by initiating atelephone number mapping discovery process to determine if a calledparty is capable of receiving the video call.
 7. The set-top box ofclaim 1, wherein the controller causes the digital video recorder topause, record or mute the media presentation responsive to answering theincoming audio call or the incoming video call.
 8. The set-top box ofclaim 1, wherein the controller facilitates initiating the outgoingaudio call or the outgoing video call using the set-top box by providingaccess to one of a call log or an electronic phonebook presented at thepresentation device.
 9. The set-top box of claim 1, wherein thecontroller initiates the outgoing audio call or the outgoing video callby transmitting a session initiation protocol INVITE message to theinternet protocol multimedia subsystem network capable of directing theoutgoing audio call or the outgoing video call to a terminal device thatis internet protocol multimedia subsystem compliant or that supports apublic switched telephone network protocol.
 10. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage device, comprising instructions which,responsive to being executed by a media processor, cause the mediaprocessor to execute a soft-phone client application on the mediaprocessor, wherein the soft-phone client application causes the mediaprocessor to perform operations comprising: receiving an audio call or avideo call originating from an internet protocol multimedia subsystemnetwork, wherein the audio call or the video call is directed to themedia processor by a gateway, the gateway coupled to a terminal adapterof the media processor, the gateway having a gateway switch that routesthe audio call or the video call in accordance with a destinationaddress included in a session initiation protocol header message,wherein the gateway switch selectively routes the audio call or thevideo call based on a caller identification or a P-asserted-identityfield of the session initiation protocol header message, or based on acalled number or a request universal resource indicator field of thesession initiation protocol header message; presenting, through apresentation device operatively coupled to the media processor, a callalert message comprising a caller identification associated with theaudio call or the video call; selectively answering one of the audiocall or the video call, wherein, in accordance with the audio call orthe video call being unanswered, automatically discarding the call alertmessage from the presentation device after a predetermined time;presenting an audio portion of the audio call or of the video callthrough a speaker of the presentation device; detecting a request toinitiate an outgoing audio call or an outgoing video call; andpresenting, in accordance with the request to initiate the outgoingaudio call or the outgoing video call, a virtual telephone keypadthrough the presentation device, thereby enabling selection of a numerickey of the keypad to facilitate the outgoing audio call or the outgoingvideo call, wherein the media processor comprises a digital videorecorder, wherein the media processor automatically performs a functioncomprising pausing, recording or muting of a media presentationresponsive to an outgoing call being initiated by the media processor,wherein the function is performed for a duration of the outgoing call,and wherein the terminal adapter of the media processor comprises anintegrated terminal adapter for converting voice-over-internet protocolsignals to plain old telephone service signals, and wherein the mediaprocessor causes the soft-phone client application to process digitalsamples of the plain old telephone service signals.
 11. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the presentationdevice is a television having the speaker and wherein the mediaprocessor is a set-top box having a microphone operatively coupled tothe set-top box for transmitting audio signals to a calling party deviceor a called party device.
 12. The computer-readable storage device ofclaim 10, wherein the media processor comprises an internet protocolcamera operatively coupled to the media processor for transmitting videosignals from the media processor to a calling party device or a calledparty device.
 13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10,wherein the gateway switch selectively routes calls to a plurality ofterminal devices including a set-top box, a secondary set-top box, and avoice-over-internet protocol phone in accordance with the destinationaddress included in the session initiation protocol header message. 14.The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the mediaprocessor performs a function comprising pause, record or mute of acurrently playing media presentation for a duration of an answered call.15. A method, comprising: receiving, by a gateway, a session initiationprotocol message corresponding to an audio call or a video call;determining, by the gateway from a called number identified in thesession initiation protocol message, that the audio call or the videocall is directed to a set-top box coupled to the gateway, the gatewaycoupled to a terminal adapter of the set-top box, wherein the terminaladapter of the set-top box comprises an integrated terminal adapter forconverting voice-over- internet protocol signals to plain old telephoneservice signals; receiving the audio call or the video call destined forthe set-top box; retrieving from the session initiation protocol messagea calling party number; transmitting to the set-top box a calleridentification associated with the calling party number; causing apresentation device coupled to the set-top box to present a call alertmessage comprising the caller identification; causing a digital switchin the gateway to route the audio call or the video call to the set-topbox based on the called number identified in the session initiationprotocol message and responsive to receiving a signal from the set-topbox indicating that the audio call or the video call has been answeredby the set-top box, wherein the digital switch selectively routes theaudio call or the video call based on the caller identification or aP-asserted-identity field of the session initiation protocol message, orbased on the called number or a request universal resource indicatorfield of the session initiation protocol message; causing processing ofdigital samples of the plain old telephone service signals; causing, inaccordance with the audio call or the video call being unanswered, thecall alert message to be automatically discarded from the presentationdevice after a predetermined time; detecting a request to initiate anoutgoing call; causing the presentation device, in accordance with therequest to initiate the outgoing call, to present a virtual telephonekeypad, thereby enabling selection of a numeric key of the keypad tofacilitate the outgoing call; and routing, by the gateway, the outgoingcall from the set-top box while a digital video recorder at the set-topbox automatically performs a function comprising pausing, recording ormuting of a media presentation when the outgoing call is initiated,wherein the function is performed for a duration of the outgoing call.16. The method of claim 15, comprising receiving the session initiationprotocol message from an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem network.17. The method of claim 15, wherein the gateway selectively routes anincoming call to multiple recipient devices among the terminal adapter,the set-top box, and voice-over-internet protocol phones registered withthe gateway based on stored routing algorithms in the gateway to causethe multiple recipient devices to ring.
 18. The set-top box of claim 1,wherein the controller facilitates initiating the outgoing audio call oroutgoing video call using the set-top box by enabling the selection ofthe numeric key using a remote controller of the set-top box.
 19. Thecomputer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the mediaprocessor facilitates initiating the outgoing audio call or the outgoingvideo call by enabling the selection of the numeric key using a remotecontroller of the media processor.
 20. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising facilitating the outgoing call by enabling selection of thenumeric key using a remote controller.